1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to flexible air valve extensions, and more particularly pertains to a flexible air valve extension which enables an inaccessible air valve on a vehicle spare tire to be conveniently filled and connected to air pressure gages. A variety of vehicles have spare tires which are mounted in locations which make it difficult to connect an air line or pressure gage to the tire valve. Additionally, many externally mounted spare tires are enclosed by a rigid cover which also encloses the tire valve. For example, on many pick-up trucks the spare tire is located beneath the rear portion of the truck bed. On many conversion vans and recreational vehicles, the spare tire is mounted on a side or rear mounted tire carrier and is enclosed by a rigid cover. In order to overcome these problems, the present invention provides a flexible air valve extension having an externally threaded valve body adapted for mounting to an accessible portion of a vehicle by a bracket.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various types of flexible air valve extensions are known in the prior art. A typical example of such a flexible air valve extension is to be found in U.S. Pat. No. 2,692,712, which issued to T. Conley on Oct. 26, 1954. This patent discloses a bracket for securing a flexible air supply line to the belt of an individual. U.S. Pat. No. 3,019,831, which issued to C. Morrello on Feb. 6, 1962, discloses a flexible air valve extension adapted for mounting through a side wall portion of a vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,803, which issued to C. Arnone on Oct. 4, 1977, discloses an indicator device positioned in the passenger compartment of a vehicle to warn the operator of the vehicle when the air pressure in the spare tire disposed in a remote location is too low for emergency use. The device utilizes an elongated air line. U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,160, which issued to J. More on Mar. 17, 1981, discloses a device for remote monitoring and filling of vehicle mounted spare tires. A flexible air line is connected to a spare tire valve and is secured by a belt which is received around the spare tire. U.S. Pat. No. 4,724,880, which issued to N. Voornas on Feb. 16, 1988, discloses a flexible air line for filling a spare tire having an inaccessible valve. A pressure gage is connected to an extension tube for constantly indicating the air pressure of the tire.
While the above mentioned devices are directed to flexible air valve extensions, none of these devices disclose a flexible air valve extension embodying the concepts and constructional details of the present invention as illustrated and described subsequently. Inasmuch as the art is relatively crowded with respect to these various types of flexible air valve extensions, it can be appreciated that there is a continuing need for and interest in improvements to such flexible air valve extensions, and in this respect, the present invention addresses this need and interest.